Pre-Offer Considerations

1. Choose the right salary in the first place.

Before you even start interviewing, you should come up with a good, fair salary for the role.

You’ll obviously need to consider…

The job seniority (will they manage people, projects, caseloads)?

The skills needed (are they rare, sought-after and hard-earned)?

The industry (is there a skills shortage or an abundance of job-seekers)?

The current job market (how competitive is it)?

The current economy (how much can you afford to pay)?

…amongst many other things.

Ensure that the salary you choose is fair, affordable and attractive – and that you stick to it throughout the entire process; advertising it on your job advert and in all communication with candidates.

Recruiter Pro Tip

When making this decision, it’s a good idea to benchmark against other, similar companies.

A great little trick is to use Indeed as a guide. Search for job adverts that advertise the same role that you are and see how much they offer applicants.

(Of course, take industry, location and your specific company needs into consideration too).

Leave yourself with a little wiggle room should your successful candidate attempt to negotiate, whilst ensuring that you are actually willing to pay the upper boundary, for the perfect person.

2. Find out what their current salary is.

It’s a good idea to find out a candidate’s current salary, early on in the recruitment process.

(Of course, they don’t have to tell you.)

This also gives you a chance to suss out whether the role is genuinely right for them. For example:

If they’re on a higher salary than you could hope to offer then you might wonder why they’re even applying for the role. It’s certainly worth letting them know (in case they missed the advert) and checking if and why they’d be happy with the drop.

If they’re on a much lower salary than you would expect, it might be worth considering why. Were their last employers paying them unfairly? Are you offering too much? Are they just not that good at their job?

This information will help to guide you with your negotiations, moving forward.

4. Be confident.

Don’t make the call until you’re fully prepared and confident with your offer.

Great candidates will have done some research themselves and will have some idea of how much they should be getting and how much they’d be willing to accept – so if your offer comes up short, they’ll want to know why.

I’d personally recommend preemptively explaining your reasons behind the offer, based on facts like their skills, your company processes, the industry etc.

If you’re struggling to explain why you came up with a certain salary, it’s probably worth revisiting it and making sure you’ve considered every angle.

Click here for more info on how appearing confident during negotiations will improve your chances.

The Negotiating Stage

6. Be willing.

Look, if you’ve found the perfect candidate – you’ve got to be ready and willing to negotiate.

If they’ve got sought-after and rare skills, knowledge and qualities, they’ll know it and they’re perfectly within their right to try and negotiate.

Prior to making your initial offer, decide how much would be the absolute maximum you’d pay and keep that in mind throughout the process – but don’t be too stubborn to change your mind if it comes to it (and you can afford to).

You can and should be honest; tell them if it is the absolute final offer you can make.

Mark Wilkinson

Mark is one of the founders of Coburg Banks and heads up the permanent recruitment division of the business. Every day he helps companies with their recruitment projects, sourcing the very best individuals for their vacancies. He understands recruitment inside-out.